P-I archive: Green Lake Theater sign frame’s brief comeback

Renovation in September 2010 to the Pacific Color building revealed the former sign for the Green Lake Theater, which opened Aug. 5, 1937. (Seattlepi.com file/Casey McNerthney)

Today from the seattlepi.com archives we have a brief history of the Green Lake Theater building, which is now home to Pacific Color Inc.

Pacific Color has been undergoing renovation, and the tower on top is coming down.

Removal of materials covering the tower revealed the former sign frame of the Green Lake Theater, which opened Aug. 5, 1937. The independent theater closed in 1950, according to Historylink.org, and the original sign frame hasn’t been seen in decades.

The current picture was taken Tuesday afternoon at 7107 Woodlawn Ave. N. If you want see it yourself, you should hurry. It won’t be there much longer.

Amy Duncan of our partner MyGreenLake.com spoke to Kelly Stergo of KSR Roofing. Stergo said the project will beautify the building with roofing work and new paint for the interior and exterior. Read Duncan’s post here.

When the movie theater opened in 1937, it advertised Mirrophonic sound and plush chairs with leg room 5 inches over building codes for extra comfort.

The first movie was “3 Smart Girls” starring Deanna Durbin – a movie that had premiered the previous December. Additional features with the movie included a Disney cartoon, “Mickey’s Moving Day.”

Read P-I coverage of the 1937 opening here. Follow this link to view a larger copy of the opening week photo.

The theater that opened in 1937 wasn’t the first Green Lake neighborhood theater.

In 1914, the first Green Lake Theater opened at 312 E. 72nd St., according to Historylink.org. The theater, briefly called the Classic Theater, operated from 1914 until 1928, the year after Al Jolson’s “The Jazz Singer” was the first talking movie. Read a Historylink.org essay about the first theater here.

For a brief history of Green Lake, click here. Historians Paul Dorpat and Jean Sherrard also have posted a wonderful history of the neighborhood here.

A similar find occurred last month when the former DiscMakers building was being demolished in the South Lake Union neighborhood. That demolition briefly revealed the former Shell Oil Co. building that had been there decades ago. Read more about that here.

Check back tomorrow for a previously unpublished historic photo of Second Avenue and Yesler Way – one that was scheduled to run today until we learned of the Green Lake renovation.